During the last District 201 Board Meeting, there were two presentations. In my opinion, one received too much attention while the other received too little. I was not at the meeting, but people who were present reported that while there was some outrage expressed regarding the possible implementation of a school uniform policy, there was little reaction to the High Schools that Work Consulting group's findings.
The Board of Education would like to formulate a school uniform policy. A motion was made that the administration should formulate a school uniform policy to be implemented on the first day of the second semester starting in January; that a public hearing on school uniforms should be called before the November board meeting to discuss type and color of the uniforms and that a vote on a school uniform policy should occur at the next board meeting in November. This motion prompted many audience comments against uniforms from parents and students of Morton West. One of the main concerns is the timing, as the Board is planning to implement this uniform policy in the middle of the school year rather than at the beginning of the next.
While I do not have a strong opinion one way or the other about school uniforms, I find it most interesting that this is the issue that has apparently grabbed the attention of an otherwise apathetic population. Admittedly 40-50 people at a Board Meeting for a School District that serves 8,000+ students isn't that impressive, still that is about 5 times the usual 5-10 people that regularly attend the Board Meetings.
The 2nd presentation at the Board Meeting inspired little or no discussion or questioning from the audience or the School Board. Last spring, the school board hired a consulting group called High Schools That Work to conduct a study of District 201. According to the report, there has been no increase in student achievement, fewer assignments are given to students, less than 6% of students complete the core curriculum, 30% of all students taking a math course fail, and 59% of assignments given to students are below the proficiency level. This information, along with low ACT scores, a high drop-out rate, a yearly defecit of $5million dollars or more, and 10+ year old textbooks, gives our community so many reasons to be outraged!
Both Berwyn elementary school districts (98 and 100)have been in the process of long-term strategic planning involving community members. WITH INPUT FROM COMMUNITY MEMBERS, those districts have been able to prioritize needs. Perhaps District 201 will consider engaging community members in a similar process to prioritize the needs of the high school district. Here are some possible goals that might be considered:
1. Balance the Budget. Explore ways to generate new revenue and reduce spending. Consider studying the feasibility of forming unit districts so that each municipality can control their own tax revenue as it effects the schools (including referenda, TIF decisions, etc.) and possibly consolidate their resources through K-12 education systems.
2. Increase graduation rate. The current graduation rate is 69.4%. In addition to setting this goal, consider negotiating a longer school day (+50 minutes) for all students when the next teacher contract is negotiated. Though our students are held to the same standards as all others in the state in terms of how many credits are needed to graduate, they have less opportunity as they are only able to earn a total of 24 credits over the 4 years in the regular school day. While we have one of the shortest school days in the state, our neighboring districts give the opportuntiy for students to take one extra class each day (4 extra credits over 4 years). Extending the school day would be the most effective way to boost the graduation rate and
every student in the district would benefit. The bottom line is that Morton students can take 6 classes per day, while OPRF, RB, LT and most other districts require their students to take 7.
3. Increase the percentage of students going to college. Explore the possibility of other models besides the Freshman Center idea when considering relieving overcrowding at West. A magnet school, Math and Science Academy, Language Arts Center or some other academic model should be researched.
4. Increase parental Involvement. Part of the plan to achieve this goal might be to improve overall communication with the community through a USEFUL website. Also, Sylvia Villa at Northeastern has established a Parent Advocacy Office and Program at Morton East. Expanding this successful program to include Morton West would be a great start.
5. Reduce discipline problems including disrespect, violence and truancy. There are established comprensive programs that have proven effective at other high schools across the nation. The Board of Education should research some methods of building self-esteem, boosting morale, preventing violence, etc. etc. District 100 has reported great success with a nationally known program called PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention Strategies) that includes computer software that enables administrators to analyze data about behaviors and the effectiveness of the interventions. I'm not sure that this program is appropriate at the high school level, but perhaps the board could research similar (data-driven) programs that have been successful at the high school level.
6. Improve standardized test scores. Our 2006 report card reports that only 30% of our students meet/exceed expectations (compared to 72.9% at the state level). Our average ACT score is 17.1 compared to a state average of 20. Part of the plan to achieve this goal should be to hire a very strong and qualified/experienced leader as Curriculum Director. Our district has had no curriculum director for the past year. The curriculum Director should set specific/measurable goals regarding student achievement.
With all of the work that needs to be done in District 201, I fail to see how prioritizing school uniforms moves District 201 forward. In fact, any time, energy, resources and OUTRAGE should be directed toward one goal: STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT.
